The Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC) saw its number of new case filings drop from 452 in 2017 to 402 in 2018. However, the aggregate sum in dispute for all new cases rose steeply to $7.06 billion from $4.07 billion a year previously.

Of the 402 new cases filed last year, some 375 were administered, while 27 were ad hoc appointments. Both figures were smaller compared to 2017, for which the equivalent numbers were 421 and 31. 

The drop in cases in 2018 comes after rapid growth in previous years. The year 2015 saw 271 cases, with the number rising to 343 in 2016, and peaking at 452 in 2017. 

According to a survey conducted by the Queen Mary University of London and White & Case International Arbitration Survey, SIAC was ranked as the third-most preferred arbitral institution in the world and the most favoured one based in Asia. 

In 2018, SIAC received new cases from parties in 65 jurisdictions, up from 58 countries in 2017. 

The U.S. topped the foreign user rankings in 2018 for the first time, while India and China both remained strong contributors of cases to SIAC. The centre’s other top foreign users were Cayman Islands, Hong Kong SAR, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea and the United Arab Emirates.  

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